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Saturday, November 28, 2009

November Pick for the Older Sib: The Princess's Blankets

I chose The Princess's Blankets as my pick for the older sibling this month because of it's traditional fantasy storytelling paired with fine art. The combination is stunning!

In a time when the publishing industry is focused on zombies, knock offs, and the naughty child, author Carol Ann Duffy's picture book shines with freshness. Imagine a princess who is always cold, concerned parents, a stranger with hard cold eyes, and a musician with a warm heart. Then ponder what truly warms the soul. Is it receiving the world in your lap, despite what it might rob from others, or could it be a song played in love, and a warm kiss on a fingertip?

Templar Books, an imprint of Candlewick, has illustrated Duffy's text with fine art paintings. These are Catherine Hyde's interpretations of the story and each work is valued and noted separately in the introduction. Hyde works on acrylic on canvas with gold, copper, and silver leaf. The end flap quotes her as saying:

"I read and reread the story many times until I saw it in terms of atmosphere and color. I wanted the mood to change like the seasons as the story progressed, so the paintings run from hot and bright to moody and harsh and finally to warm and sensual."

This beautiful work ought to garner awards left and right. Add it to your collection and enrich storytime with the older siblings of your totz!

Around the Block with Sesame Street

Joan's new board books: This Little Trailblazer, Mighty Dads, This Little President

Our Mission

readertotz, little sister site to readergirlz, is a board book blog dedicated to raising the profile and quality of infant/toddler books, the first genre in children's literature able to instill a love of reading.

Titles featured are books Joan and Lorie Ann purchase, library books, and/or publishing house submissions. Our responses are our honest opinions, sometimes with constructive feedback; but we only post about books we like, so you won't find any completely negative reviews/responses here.